[Josh Cissell]

I've hit a wall. I've built my three overhead cabinets and am now trying to start covering all the odd spaces in between and I just don't how to do it. I'm up for covering with wood or with upholstery material but I've never done either and can't really find anything online to help. Anyone have any place I can look online to get help with either?

Thanks.

 

[proeddie]

JC,

Can you take a few pics of the areas you're talking about? Might be easier to get some ideas.

On mine, I "covered" all of the wall to ceiling spaces with cabinets so I didn't need any other covering.

For the columns, I wrapped 'em in wood. I built a 3 sided box that wraps around the column and is bolted thru with rivnuts to the face of the column.... major PITA to make! I built a practice side piece then figured out the width of the front piece and made the real thing... lotsa sanding and fitting. The wings on each side of the column were added to make the window openings a rectangle so I could get cellular shades for the glass.

Happy to say that I'm now in the process of making the ceiling! A few trim pieces for the back of the couch and I'm almost done.

 

[Josh Cissell]

Thanks. Your van is definitely the standard and I believe my woodworking skills may not be good enough to reproduce what you've done. I've spent many hours in my van wondering how you've done what you have. One section that I'll be doing soon is the rear rib that connects the back doors to the ceiling. My problem is that I can't really cut the pieces that have all the curves down in the corners so that there aren't tons of gaps.

 

[proeddie]

Thanks for the compliment!

Here's a picture that shows how the covers are made

These are the C column covers without the wings (which really don't do much). It's pretty easy to cut the profile of the window (or wall if no window) from cardboard as a template then cut the two sides, which are the same. then copy to plywood and cut with a jigsaw. A belt sander helps make the final "adjustments" If you don't need the wood look, you could easily cover this with felt, naugahyde, etc. (and the details won't show underneath!)

The holes are located to hit a rivnut I inserted in the metal column. They are the only thing that holds the covers in place.

If I were recommending a woodworking tool, I would suggest this HD product...

http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-O...C-_-NavPLPHorizontal1_rr-_-NA-_-100061671-_-N

It's expensive (for a sander) but it offers a level of control in your sanding that is hard to beat! A belt sander would work as well, but is a bit tougher to control... does the same thing though for about $50.

For the rear rib, I'm bolting in a base board, then it will be easier to attach a more detailed trim piece to it... Hard to get a good picture of the process, but I'll be documenting some of the ceiling stuff as I progress.

FYI: No one should take 3 years to do the inside of a van (me)!... I've got to speed up the work (or move to a southern location where I can work on it year 'round. It would help if the van would fit in the garage, but that ain't gonna happen!

 

[Rich Maund]

Odd areas can be covered with felted trunk carpeting and spray contact cement. The carpet can be stretched to cover odd curves and then tucked in at the edges under the other materials. I did this around the hatches in my own build. Came out looking nice.

 

[Josh Cissell]

Rich,

My first go at upholstering. Not perfect but ok.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[proeddie]

JC,

Looks pretty good to me! I caught up with your build thread.... great progress and nice design. Not too many of those "odd spots" to deal with.

I like the selfie in your last picture!

 

[scottwood2]

Odd areas can be covered with felted trunk carpeting and spray contact cement. The carpet can be stretched to cover odd curves and then tucked in at the edges under the other materials. I did this around the hatches in my own build. Came out looking nice.

I like this idea. Want to keep it simple. Can this be removed if needed? It would be nice to be able to replace the material if needed later.

Would love to see pics of this.

Thx